Thursday, August 26, 2010

New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookies (Treats for Co-Irkers)

I'm fairly certain that all food bloggers eventually get around to blogging about the world famous chocolate chip cookie recipe from the New York Times. This week seemed like a good week for me to throw in my two cents and tell you what I think about the recipe. And, since these cookies are going to work with hubby tomorrow, we'll be able to find out what the co-irkers think of them too. (They're brutally honest, I'm telling you!)

This review is slightly tainted however, because upon reading the recipe and making my shopping list for the ingredients, I failed to notice that the dough must rest in the fridge for 24 hours before baking. Well, today was going to be my shopping day this week and since I now had to make the dough yesterday in order to bake the cookies today, it was either make do with the chocolate I had on hand, or go to Wal-Mart in my pajamas yesterday morning to buy the special chocolate called for.

In hindsight, which still remains 20-20 even though the rest of my vision has gone to hell in a hand basket, I could have gone to Wal-Mart in my pajamas because if your local Wal-Mart is anything like my local Wal-Mart, you see people in their pajamas all the time. And oddly, what concerns me more than the fact that they're wearing pajamas is the fact that the pajama tops and bottoms don't match. What's this world coming to? And more importantly, why do I even notice such things?

OK, back to the tainted recipe. The original recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate. I had semi-sweet and I had unsweetened chocolate, so I met somewhere in the middle by grating the unsweetened chocolate and combining it with some chopped semi-sweet chocolate and some semi-sweet chocolate chips. That wiped me out of the total 1 1/4 pounds of chocolate I had in the house. Has necessity become the mother of intervention? I'll let you be the judge and decide if I need help.

2. Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Stir all chocolate into dough using a wooden spoon. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours.

3. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

4. The original recipe recommends using 3 1/2 ounces of dough per cookie and baking six cookies per baking sheet, but I thought that made for an entirely too large cookie. So I dropped the dough by tablespoonfuls on to the prepared cookie sheet, then sprinkled lightly with sea salt and baked until golden brown, but still soft, 10-12 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 3-4 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

The verdict? I think these were quite possibly the best chocolate chip cookies I've ever made. I also think that by grating the unsweetened chocolate, it made for a more consistent chocolate flavor throughout the entire cookie. This is definitely a recipe worth repeating.

You grated the chocolate...no wonder they look so good (and remind me of the Doubletree cookies). Lucky co-irkers!

I've made these before, along with the Thomas Keller chocolate chip cookies, and I ended up cobbling together a hybrid recipe that's pretty fine. In fact, you have me thinking about cookies, so I may have to whip up a batch tonight...

And the pajama thing confounds me in general, like when did people start wearing clothes that look like pajamas to work? Do they wear suits to bed? What's up with that?

Girl... these look like the best cookies I've ever seen. Those damn co-irkers better not say anything bad about this treat. I'll be really pissed if I have to drive clear to Indiana and slap some people silly.

I've made this recipe before and they were good - great, in fact, but yours...They're show stoppers. Your melding of the chocolate? Pure genius. That hint of sea salt? Inspired. That crisp edge and soft center? Heaven. And let's not forget how they looked - Professional (yes with a capital P).

The only bad thing about them - there weren't enough to go around. There was much gnashing of teeth, wailing, and beating of breast from those unlucky co-irkers who were not fast enough to grab this amazing manna. To those sad few I say "You snooze, you lose."

And, Mags, these were the best chocolate chip cookies I have ever had. But if you think you can do better we will happily sample your next culinary creation. That's how devoted we are to food, err, I mean you.

I am in love with this recipe. I made it a few weeks ago for the very first time, and although I made a whole batch, all of them were devoured in less than three hours (my family helped quite a bit). Then I made them to sell as refreshments at a play I was in, and they were part of the spread at an art opening I had with some friends. Everyone loves them! And they seem pretty fool-proof, too. It's good for me, because my oven is quite tricky and so I am so glad when cookies bake right (not overdone or underdone like they usually turn out). These cookies are beautiful! The lighting is great in your photographs, too :)

Wow, you are kind of brave to use unsweetened chocolate. The cookies look fantastic.NYT cookie recipe is my favorite ccc and my go-to (which I've adapted a bit, too). And I almost never chill the dough that long, sometimes not at all and they are still fabulous cookies.Mismatched pajamas, or clothes that are inside out--whatever!

I usually use semisweet and bittersweet when I make these. I've also tried them with just AP flour and like the recipe better than when I use cake and bread flour. So many combinations. But the salt on top is a must! As is eating the raw cookie dough.

I tried this recipe today and unfortunately, my cookies are nowhere near as pretty as yours!The cookies themselves look chocolately, like a chocolate, chocolate chip cookie.Do you have any idea why they look different?

I've seen legions lament the wonder of this cookie so I tried them. Maybe it's my stupid altitude...no, not that I am personally so tall but that I live at 5280' - nothing seems to measure up to the accolades.

Then I made a chocolate chip cookie a few weeks ago with brown butter and a combination of molasses and sugar instead of store bought brown sugar and I think I've finally found my chocolate chip cookie nirvana. I dare say...anything is better with brown butter!

I do love the idea of grating the chocolate though...so thanks a bunch for that suggestion. Will do!

These cookies look scrumptious, but it will be a long while before I can make them :( I have no electric mixer and only use all-purpose flour. Just can't see buying cake flour and bread flour for a single recipe...

I stink at being domestic or baking or doing anything that requires lots of concentration, but I have to go to a cookie contest tomorrow and I figured I should try to do better than my last cookie endeavor. (I did Tollhouse premade cookie dough and put sprinkles on them and told people I made cake batter cookies. Haha.)

Anyway, I have this contest, and no one expects anything of me, so I figured I would make something amazing. I found this recipe, painstakingly followed the million instructions (from scratch is SO much harder than Tollhouse Easy Bake!), and even refrigerated it!

My addition to this recipe was bacon. Yes. Bacon. I made it crispy with maple syrup and brown sugar, and rolled the cookie balls in the diced pieces. I doubt I would ever win a Best in Show at a Cookie Contest, so maybe I will win Most Unusual!

Anyway, I just tried one and they are amazing. I feel so accomplished! And domestic! If I win, I will thank you in my speech.

No more Tollhouse for me! (Okay, that's a lie. I still love me some Tollhouse.)

I WON the cookie contest, much to my surprise and the surprise of most people who know me.

Even if people didn't love the bacon, EVERYONE agreed it was probably the best chocolate chip cookie they ever tried!

I will say that the bacon is super polarizing--people will either LOVE it or HATE it. Men really loved it when I took the leftovers to work, and most of the ladies took some home for their husbands to try.

Just made these. They have been "sitting" in the fridge until time to pull them out today. They are as hard as a rock so I really couldn't "spoon" them out. Instead I used a knife and cut them. Cooking currently so I will update in a few. The dough is scrumptious

Ok. The family thinks they are good....."Why are they salty?" Was the first question. Anyone want to tell me what the purpose of the sea salt on top is? It is "strange" as my husband and children put it.

I just made these to take as a dessert tonight for a dinner party. OMG...they are delicious. Had to adapt the recipe to what I had, and only used 4 oz of grated bitter chocolate and 4 oz of chunks, and then 12 oz of choc chips. They are still amazing even with those changes! Love the salt/chocolate after taste. :)

Still laughing about co-irkers. :) And Walmart People. Love the idea of grated chocolate. I have made these and I do think they're better after they've been refrigerated. I LOVE America's Test Kitchen's Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies when I don't have time to let the dough rest. :)

These look absolutely AMAZING! I'm stuck in the airport for the next 4 hours, and all I want to do is eat these cookies! I have never made cookies using unsweetened chocolate... I can't wait to try these when I get home!

I made these last night and they are delicious! I wasn't paying attention and threw in milk chocolate chips (instead of semi-sweet) so I tried to compensate by tossing in some bittersweet ones as well. So, I had quite the mix of chocolates, but it's okay. I'll try them again sometime following the recipe as written! :)

In a fit of PMS crave-rage, I scoured the internet for THE perfect chocolate chip cookie tonight and, I have to say, this recipe rocked my socks right off....

I made the base the same, only halving the recipe, substituting half of the butter portion with margarine, and using the chocolate I had on hand (which happened to be an undevoured scrap of a Hershey's special dark bar finely chopped, semi-sweet chocolate chips, and some Andes Mint crumbles left over from Christmas. Don't judge me...)

Also, to save precious time I smeared the dough evenly inside a large glass mixing bowl and popped it into the freezer until it was firm.

The finished product was deeply chocolaty, mintyfresh, crispy and soft all at the same delicious moment. My ovaries thank you...

PJs in Wally World? That's nothin'!!! I had to stop by the bank the other day and walked up behind a young lady in pink pjs with her fuzzy slippers on. I could only conclude she was dragged out of her sickbed due to an untimely deposit she had to make. Also she looked sick. Yikes!

Thank you for the recipe! The recipe sounds amazing! Although there is so much chocolate in this recipe I probably won't make it too often- here in Paris the chocolate alone in this recipe will probably cost around 10euros (13 or 14 dollars). Expensive for a batch of cookies!

Jess: I hope they turned out OK for you! The refrigeration solidifies the butter (which was at room temperature when the dough was mixed) and this will make a difference in the outcome of the cookie... shape, texture, etc. Should still taste good though!

I have made these multiple times and they are always a HUGE crowd pleaser!! I consider them my "love cookies" because it takes a little time to grate the chocolate but they are always appreciated and well worth the effort. Thanks for sharing:).

I just made these and they're flat and crunchy, to the expert cookie bakers out there, what have Idone wrong? Everyone seems to say wonderful things about these cookies, but they're not what I had dreamed they'd be. A bit of a disappoint after patiently waiting while the dough sat in my fridge for the last 24 hours. I must have made a mistake, everyone raves about them.

my first time baking chocolate chip cookies from scratch and they were excellent! these cookies are the best ones i've ever had. one minute too long in the oven though is enough to ruin a batch so bake five first to test how long your oven would need to cook it and then bake the whole batch. a bit more labor intensive than I would like but every bit worth the effort. the pictures helped tremendously.

Amanda: Fluid and dry ingredients measure differently and I've found in baking that weighing ingredients makes a big difference in the results, especially when comparing the weights of different flours. Hope this helps!

Absolutely THE BEST chocolate chip cookie our family has ever had. We have really spent time focusing on quality family moments for Christmas in lieu of presents. Making these cookies together was an immediate treasured memory and the end product was an extra blessing. Thank you SO much for sharing.

I am in the process of making these gorgeous cookies. The dough is now chilling in the fridge. Was your dough very dry and crumbly? I noticed mine seemed fairly dry when I made it and now after 15 hours of chilling, it is even more dry. Will my cookies still be okay? Is there any way I can save them?

These have become my go to chocolate chip cookie recipe. Although mine don't look as delicious as yours, I have even gotten many request for them. When I volunteer to bake something, people have asked me to make my chocolate chip cookies. My daughter's teacher even asked me to make them for a teacher appreciation lunch. Thanks so much for sharing the recipe!

Hi! I'm the culineer from www.ifeellikecooking.com and a fellow post 50ish gal. Definitely plan on trying this. And just so you know, I never wear pajamas to Walmart. Haha!! Heck, I wear lipstick to the mailbox so you know how weird I am. Will let you know how they turn out!

I have made this recipe multiple times for the guys at work and they have been a resounding success. Even when it looked like I might have some to take home...it never happened. The addition of the unsweetened chocolate makes this such a decadent cookie without the overwhelming sweetness of milk chocolate. Thanks so much for this, I now have my chocolate chip recipe!

These look pretty and delicious! I wonder, though, if I could use all wheat flours - wheat pastry flour with wheat bread flour? Would they come out okay, or would I have to add nuts or dried cherries to balance the texture, off?

Thanks for this recipe, it is one of the BEST I've even seen for chocolate chip cookies. :)

Have to tell you I made this cookies on this past Thursday.I only had the 2 sticks of unsalted butter so of course substituted salted only used 2 oz of graded unsweetened choc got tired of the grating.I totally missed the sugar only put in Brown! I used a whole bag of dark chocolate,half of milk chocolate and the chopped 8 oz of semi chocolate. MY family thinks this is the BEST CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES IN THE WORLD!!!So even with the mistakes they were delish!

I've had a yelp account for as long as I can remember, and although I've had both amazing AND awful experiences at different restaurants/bars, I haven't ever taken the time to leave even a single word comment. These cookies, however, warrant a comment. I just stuck the dough in the fridge (after sampling, of course :) ) and felt I needed to let the blogging/pinterest world know how incredible your recipe is. This is my 5th time making these in a year. Why do I feel that this is somehow outstanding? Because I don't have a mixer. Not even hand-held. I use a fork to mash the butter & sugars, mix the eggs, and I use a great quality chef knife to both chop and 'grate' my chocolate. I'm writing with a very sore hand/wrist, but it was still so very worth it. Every time I make these cookies, I am asked for the recipe, or to make them again for a family/friend function. This case in particular is for a Secret Santa being held at the Borgata in AC for my boyfriend's family. Pretty sure these cookies are what made his family decide to accept me as one of their own when I made them last.. So thanks for that!

I made this cookie recipe last year for Christmas and my adult son said they were the best cookies he's ever had. This is a great recipe and I'm making it again for this year. The salt really compliments the chocolate.

About Me

This is my documentation of my life after turning 50. Lots of recipes, some healthy, some not so much... tossed up with a hefty dose of sarcasm and motherly love.
My email address: maggielauerrdh(at)yahoo.com